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Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-kin and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (October 9):
Question:
Recently, a number of trade unions have relayed to me that as the Government has all along overlooked vocational training, Hong Kong will experience the ageing of and a succession gap among technical personnel in the next few years, and there is hearsay that the Electrical and Mechanical Services Departments (EMSD) also encounters difficulties in recruiting new blood to join the department, thus seriously affecting the economic development and urban infrastructure of Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of craftsmen, technicians, assistant engineers and engineers recruited by EMSD each year from 2008 to 2012, with a breakdown by the age groups, as well as their average ages respectively (set out in a table);
(b) whether it knows the number of basic craft courses (BCCs) organised by the Vocational Training Council (VTC) and the number of places offered by such courses each year from 2008 to 2012; the number of graduates of such courses joining the Apprenticeship Scheme; and the employment rates of such trainees in the relevant trades after completing the apprenticeship programmes (set out in a table);
(c) whether it knows the number of part-time craft programmes organised by VTC and the number of places offered by such programmes each year from 2008 to 2012;
(d) whether it knows the work done by VTC, the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) and the Education Bureau respectively in publicising and promoting the Apprenticeship Scheme, retraining courses and the New Senior Secondary (NSS) academic structure as well as the expenditure from 2008 to 2012 (set out in a table);
(e) whether it knows if VTC or other training bodies had jointly organised in the past three years any apprenticeship or other vocational training programme with public utilities such as the MTR Corporation Limited, Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited, New World First Bus Services Limited, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited, Hongkong Electric Company Limited and the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, etc.; if so, of a list of the titles and number of trainees of such programmes by year; and
(f) of the new measures in place to attract young people to join the apprenticeship programmes, so as to actively nurture technical personnel in Hong Kong?
Reply:
President,
The Government is committed to providing flexible and multiple study pathways with multiple entry and exit points for young people. Apart from conventional academic programmes, vocational education plays a pivotal role in equipping young people with a solid foundation to join different industries best suited to their interests. In terms of vocational training, the Government encourages the provision of comprehensive and diversified vocational training opportunities by different sectors of the community, with a view to meeting the development needs of both the society and the industries.
(a) According to the information provided by the Development Bureau, the numbers and age groups of artisans/senior artisans, technicians, assistant engineers and engineers newly recruited by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) each year from 2008 to 2012 are at Annex 1.
(b) Statistics on electrical and mechanical (E&M) services-related full-time basic craft courses (BCCs) offered by the Vocational Training Council (VTC) and relevant graduates registered under the Apprenticeship Scheme from 2008 to 2012 are at Annex 2. VTC also offers full-time BCCs related to other trades, but some of them are not designated trades under the Apprenticeship Scheme.
(c) Statistics on E&M services-related part-time craft programmes offered by VTC from 2008/09 to 2012/13 academic years are at Annex 3.
(d) Expenses and statistics on publicity efforts for the Apprenticeship Scheme, retraining courses and the New Senior Secondary (NSS) academic structure from 2008-09 to 2012-13 financial years are at Annex 4.
(e) At present, VTC does not offer any joint vocational training programmes in collaboration with public utilities. Nonetheless, many public utilities encourage their employees to join existing programmes offered by VTC. Relevant statistics from 2010-11 to 2012-13 financial years are at Annex 5.
In addition, the Construction Industry Council (CIC) has launched the Contractors Cooperative Training Scheme (CCTS) in collaboration with contractors. Under the CCTS, contractors hire trainees and provide them with relevant training at construction sites. Training allowances and other training expenses are provided by CIC to the trainees and contractors respectively. Various public utilities and public bodies including the MTR Corporation Limited, Airport Authority Hong Kong, Urban Renewal Authority, the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, etc. encourage their works contractors to participate in the CCTS for training of local construction workers. From 2011 to September 2013, CIC has approved over 400 relevant training places under the CCTS for contractors of the public utilities and public bodies.
(f) VTC has been actively exploring new measures to promote the Apprenticeship Scheme and attract young people who are interested in developing a career in relevant trades. It will continue its publicity efforts through media, talks and other activities. Apart from the statutory Apprenticeship Scheme, VTC has launched a pilot traineeship scheme for the service industries at the end of 2011, with beauty care and hairdressing industries as the starting point. Under the scheme, structured on-the-job training and relevant vocational training courses are provided to young people aged 15 years old or above. VTC is in consultation with other service industries facing labour shortage on the feasibility and arrangement of extending the pilot traineeship scheme to these industries.
On the other hand, EMSD and 17 organisations have set up a Working Group for the Promotion of E&M industry in Hong Kong in 2012. The organisations include MTR Corporation Limited, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited, Hongkong Electric Company Limited, Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, Water Supplies Department, VTC's Office of the Director of Apprenticeship, CIC, The Institute of the Motor Industry Hong Kong, seven E&M contractors' associations, The Federation of Hong Kong E&M Industries Trade Unions, and EMSD Apprentice Association. A two-day exhibition on "Hong Kong's E&M Industry (Technical Personnel) - Career and Development" was held in March 2013, attracting an attendance rate of more than 2 700. The Working Group has also launched its dedicated website, Facebook page and mobile application to enhance public knowledge about the E&M industry and to encourage more young people to join E&M services-related apprentice training. These channels provided a useful platform for the promotion of the industry in recruiting apprentices in 2013. The recruitment exercise achieved satisfactory results, with a significant increase in the number of applications received from around 600 in 2012 to over 2 400 applications in 2013. The Working Group will prepare a plan for upcoming publicity activities to attract more young people to join the industry.
In addition, EMSD has renamed its "apprentice" as "technician trainee" in the 2012 recruitment exercise with a view to making its apprentice training more attractive to young people. In the 2013 recruitment exercise, EMSD introduced a four-year training programme targeting graduates of the NSS academic structure as well as enhanced the remuneration package to attract more young people to join the industry. EMSD recruited 122 and 184 technician trainees in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Ends/Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:39
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